Act four and five reminded me of those types of men that are possessive and abusive in relationships. Othello striking Desdemona in front of other people was a little disturbing to me. Going all the way and killing both Desdemona and himself was just awful. I thought it was sad that all of this violence and hate started through deception and insecurities.
Othello is the typical hero in this play. He is a well known warrior, good looking, and has a beautiful wife. Othello’s main flaw is that he lets his insecurities get the best of him. Iago knows this and uses his insecurities against him. Othello is the perfect representation of Aristotle’s tragic hero because he goes from prosperity to misfortune through his error of letting his insecurities get the best of him.
Shakespeare uses his characters to show what guilt can do to a human being. After Othello finds the truth behind Iago’s scheme Othello is burdened with guilt for killing his wife. Othello goes to says to the others, “I ask your pardon. Will you, I pray, demand that demi-devil why he hath thus ensnared my soul and body?” Othello knows he has done wrong and tries to apologize for his actions. Othello then kills himself out of guilt. We all know the feeling of guilt, it is a useless emotion. Guilt is associated with feelings of misery and despair. Living with guilt is a burden for people and can cause people to do selfish things like taking your own life away.
Its a head scratcher of why Othello went so far and kill themselves for something that was not even true. In the end Othello just could not deal with the guilt. You are right that guilt is an emotion that serves no purpose and just can bring people down just like in this case.
ReplyDeleteGuilt is something that grows in all of us when we feel we have done an immoral act. It definitely brings anyone down and could make them cause pain to themselves and others. Othello had so much guilt about he had done and yet it was too late and it was his undoing.
ReplyDeleteI kinda forgot about that scene when Othello strikes Desdemona and it was a little extreme to me too. I don't think their relationship was that strong just because the fact that at the end he doesn't even give her the chance to talk about what she has to say about her and Cassio. I think Othello was too insecure about himself and her love towards him that he just decided to kill her then to maybe hear her say she didn't really love him. You're right Othello's insecurities got the best of him.
ReplyDeleteI really like your thematic analysis! Especially your "thesis": Shakespeare uses his characters to show what guilt can do to a human being. You can use so many different examples in the play and analyze the crap out of it! Haha. That's what the whole story leads up to really- the moral of the story, however you look at it I guess. you could also show how you can't have guilt without jealousy maybe?
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of how the characters show what can guilt do to us is very agreeable. I never thought that Shakespeare was emphasizing guilt. I really like that u mentioned how guilt can't do us any good and that it will just bring us down because it is very realistic. And again, your example of how people can be possessive and abusive makes the acts more clear.
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